Book of Rain

The contents of the future are the contents of a cloud.

So begins translator David Larsen’s introduction for the Book of Rain by ancient Arabic linguist and hadith narrator Abu Zayd Sa''id ibn Aws al-An?ari. While far from a definitive list, The Book of Rain is the earliest known catalogue of Arabic weather-words. In Larsen''s translation, Abu Zayd''s lexicography of rain is simultaneously an academic, archival, and poetic pursuit.

These rich, extensive lists provide detailed descriptions of “The Dribble,” “The Discharge,” “The Flat,” “The Beetle-Brow,” and “The Nebuline”—all specific types of rain—as well as words for frosts, dews, thunder, lightning, clouds, and, of course, the various and plentiful words for waters. Coupled with Larsen’s introduction, The Book of Rain is a source of endless interdisciplinary inquiry which is sure to fascinate readers for years (if not centuries) to come.